Star Fox: Origins
by Kasune
Summary: The story of the games, told following James McCloud. Mostly.
1. New Mission

The young fox walked off towards the academy, with the Reynard watching him. Fox had asked for this. He wanted to fly with James. And he would learn how. The boy made him proud. It was unfortunate that he would not see him for years to come.

"James. Are you there?" The communicator squawked, betraying Peppy's voice. "We have a mission straight from General Pepper. Where are you?"

"Watching our kids go to school." James said, pulling the mouthpiece down to his mouth. "You're really lucky to still have your wife. I'll be at the Great Fox shortly. Over and out."

"Okay, James. You're right. Over and out."

"ROB, come in. I need you to leave a message at the house. Tell Fox that I've gotten another mission and will probably be gone for the week. He should stay at the Toad's place while I'm gone." He started to walk away from the academy as all the students had filed in. "End it with 'Practice well. I hope to fly with you soon.' That is all. Over and out."

StarFox 

"Remember the incident about five years ago involving a scientist named Andross?" Peppy said, standing next to a hologram.

"How could I forget?" The fox replied, pushing the sunglasses back up his nose. "What I don't get is what it has to do with the mission."

"Who cares what the mission is as long as it pays?" The fat pig said. "How much does it pay?"

"Pigma, I hardly think that is important. You always get your cut of the reward." The rabbit sighed. "And the reason I bring up the incident is because it does pertain to the mission. He was banished to Venom shortly after the incident by General Pepper. However, General Pepper did not think to post sentries to keep a watch on the planet and the scientist. He can't really be blamed. He was just starting as the General."

The reynard sighed again. "Peppy, we all know that. What is the point?"

"You have no patience, James." Peppy smiled. "Strange things have been happening on Venom. General Pepper wants us to do recon, take care of it if we deem it dangerous."

"Oooo! A cross galaxy flight. He must be paying us a lot." The pig squealed in delight.

The rabbit sighed again. "Honestly, Pigma…Do you ever think of anything else?"

"Nope." The pig laughed. He began to walk off. "I'll be in my quarters till you need me."

After Pigma had left, Peppy turned to James. "I don't trust him. All he cares about is money. We can't trust him."

"He has the skill we need. Even in this line of work, beggars can't be choosers. Just be glad that it's no longer just you and me." The reynard smiled. "Set a course for Corneria. I have a good feeling that we will want to talk to General Pepper before we head off to Venom."

StarFox 

The large ship docked in the military bay. "We have docked. You may disembark in fifteen minutes."

The hare smiled, standing up from the chair he was occupying. "Finally. I hate these long trips." He started for the ship's entrance.

StarFox 

"Ah, James McCloud. It is an honor to see you again. You as well, Peppy Hare." The bulldog said, walking up to the team. "It is a good thing that you accepted this mission. I don't think that anyone else has the skill to take it on."

"You flatter us, General." James laughed. "We're just mercenaries. If we were that special, you would want to recruit us."

"Don't belittle yourself. I prefer it this way. I don't have to pay you like this all the time." The General laughed with the reynard. "I suppose that you came for more information on the mission. How about we go to my office? It is secure in there."

StarFox 

"So…you suspect that Andross is up to foul play?" Peppy said after the general had finished his briefing. "This sounds like a very dangerous mission. Why send a small recon team instead of an entire armada?"

"We want to ensure that nothing wrong is happening before we send in the troops. We know that you will be able to do this and survive."

"Yeah, yeah. I was never told. How much is this paying?" The fat pig said, eating some meat.

"Do you have no sense of patriotism?" General Pepper and Peppy chorused at Pigma.

"Look, money is money. Makes the world go round. No matter who is in charge. If someone else were to take over, disestablish your government, where will you and your patriotism be? Probably dead while I'm spending money. Convince me to keep you in charge. That's how you get me to work."

The two couldn't help but stare at the pig incredulously. James McCloud just stared at the holographic map floating in the center of the room.

StarFox 

"Fox!" The young hare shouted, running down the hall. "Please wait up."

The young vulpine stopped and turned around to face his friend. "Hey Lucy. Did you want something?"

"Slippy told me he had gotten his flight simulator working. I wanted to know if you'd like to head over there with me."

"Sure. Slippy asked me and Bill to come by this morning. We were going to walk, but if you're going too, could you give us a lift?"

"Yeah…I can give you and Bill a lift." She started to walk beside Fox. "Be a pleasure."

StarFox 

The StarFox team walked down the street. A young wolf darted from around the corner, pointing a blaster at James head. The three men stopped, but otherwise seemed unperturbed by the danger.

"What do you want, kid?" James said, looking straight down the barrel of the gun. As he said this, a falcon jumped out from inside a doorway and pointed a blaster at the back of Peppy's head. "Or kids, I should say."

"We want to join your StarFox. We figured the best way would be to prove our worth." The wolf said.

"I am impressed." James said, standing still. "Most people wouldn't think to attack the top ranked mercenary team in Lylat."

"I'm impressed too. I only heard you about four minutes ago." The hare said. "You show impressive skill in shadowing targets."

Pigma reached out and grabbed an invisible target by the neck. The shock made the lizard drop his cloaking device and blaster. "Your information sucks. It doesn't take much digging to find out that my eyes have thermal sensors in them."

James grabbed the blaster the wolf was holding and wrenched it from his grasp, drawing his own and pointing it at the falcon. "Drop the blaster." He clicked a button on the side of the wolf's blaster and pointed it back at the wolf. "Now."

The falcon let his blaster drop at a nod from the wolf.

"Next time you have someone at gun point, make sure the safety is off." James clicked the button on the one blaster again, dropping it at the wolf's feet. "What's your names?"

"Wolf O'Donnell."

"Leon Powalski."

"Falco Lombardi."

The fox smiled. "All three of you show promise, but you're not ready for working for me. I'll contact you when I get back on planet. You just may be good talent for the team."

The members of StarFox walked away after Pigma dropped Leon.

Wolf stared at the pilots. "This isn't over." He mumbled. "I won't give up easily."


	2. Reasons

"Aieee!" The toad shouted as his fighter pilot was hit by the shot. He spun out of control and crashed into a building without being able to recover from his spinout.

"Slippy, I reckon you gave us drone ships the way we're crashing." Bill said as his plane careened out of control into the ground.

The fox continued to dodge through the blasts, occasionally shooting at the computer pilots. "I don't know. It's just a matter of moving around, making sure you don't get shot."

"Easy for you to say, fly boy. You're a natural at this." Bill said as he flew out of the mothership in a new ship. "Let's see you shoot down a few of these guys."

"No, you're a better shot than I am." He swerved through a group of enemies, one shot slicing through his wing. "Oh, I'm going down."

"Coming through!" The hare yelled as she flew straight into the group, her laser firing randomly, searing through almost half of the squad before the computer reoriented and shot her down.

Slippy zoomed out of the mothership in a new drone ship and blasted two of the opposing pilots before he was shot down again.

"Slippy Toad has been retired!"

"Drat!" The dog said, blasting several of the fighters with accuracy. He was alone on the field until Fox and Lucy were given new fighters. To make matters worse, he had one fighter left as well. If he died, they might not be able to complete the mission. "Hurry up!" The two planes flew out of the mothership, but a moment too late to help Bill. He had taken out eight planes, but he was finally hit. He tried desperately to crash into one, missing it by an inch. They were left with thirty fighters to fight. "Sorry, Fox."

"Bill Grey has been retired!"

Fox flew through the ranks of the ships dodging the lasers wildly. "Get them, Lucy!"

The hare let out a barrage of shots into the ships distracted by the vulpine's movements. "That's the way!" The hare yelled as they destroyed seventeen of the fighters in the barrage. One of the fighters got behind the hare and she was shot down before Fox could work on the last of the fighters. "Noooo!"

"Lucy Hare has been retired!"

Fox flew between the fighters, shooting away at them slowly, always careful to move out of the blasters range before it was too late. But the sheer disadvantage was just too much. After twelve minutes of being alone on the field, Fox was finally shot down.

"Fox McCloud has been retired! Final Score: Fox McCloud used three drones and shot down seventeen fighters. Lucy Hare used three drones and shot down twenty-eight fighters. Bill Grey used two drones and shot down thirty-six fighters. Slippy Toad used four drones and shot down twelve fighters. As most valuable pilot, Bill Grey is awarded 30 points and is an ace. Fox McCloud, being most skilled pilot, is awarded twenty points and is technically an ace. Lucy Hare is awarded fifteen points and is an ace. Slippy Toad is awarded seven points."

The teenagers climbed out of the fake cockpits. "Technical ace?" The hare laughed. "What a riot."

Slippy sighed as he climbed out and kicked the machine. "At least he got that."

"Don't worry Slips." Fox smiled at his friend. "You just got to have a little practice. I'm going to head home. I'll see you later." He walked out of the house.

[StarFox

Peppy Hare looked at the controls as they flew through space. They would make a quick stop at Sargasso, but then they would head straight for Venom. He didn't like it. Pigma couldn't be trusted, and the run in with the rookies had left him a little shaky. "I'm getting too old for this." He sighed as he watched the stars fly by. It didn't help that James wasn't paying much attention to his concerns at the moment. Of course, this mission did hit a nerve.

[StarFox

The Wolfens zoomed through space, three marks in the sky. "Wolf, what are we planning on doing?" The chameleon broke the silence. "The wolfens aren't capable of taking on the arwings. We can't hope to fight our way into the team."

"We're not going to fight our way in. We just have to prove ourselves worthy enough to join their ranks."

"Why do we want to join that team anyways?" The avian asked. "They're impressive, but we could do far better with some experience."

"They get the best missions. We would get the best experience with them."

A ship streaked across the sky, joining the ranks of the Wolfens. "Hey boys. How you doing, Falco?"

"What are you doing out here, Katt?" The avian asked as the image of the pilot showed up on his view screen.

"Just wanted to see my favorite pilots." She smiled, waving at the monitor. "Hey, Leon." She said coyly.

"We're headed to Sargasso Hideout. StarFox always gets their information from there before going on a mission." Wolf said, ignoring the cat. "At least, I am. Anyone can do as they wish."

"We'll follow you." Leon said proudly, saluting.

"Better than nothing." Falco said, laughing at the lizards salute.

"You don't mind if I tag along, do you?" The cat smiled, waving again at Wolf.

"If you want, but don't get in my way."

The four ships sped up, heading towards Sargasso.

[StarFox

He had to stay calm. Andross' actions may have hurt him, but they had not been meant to hurt him. Or anyone, for that matter. His wife had told him about all the advances that Andross had made in science, how it would help protect the planet and launch us into a new age of technology.

They had been testing a new reactor. If it had worked, it would have provided energy for a hundred years with barely any oil. Vicky had been the only one of his assistants on the planet at the time, so she helped him set up the experiment. Andross had pleaded that none of his assistants or colleagues be blamed for the effects of the experiment, but that wouldn't bring his wife back.

He looked around the room. The stealth situation was always randomly generated, and always tough. He needed to make sure he was perfect. He needed Pigma providing air support in case they faced resistance and Peppy was to stay in the Great Fox to send him his ship if he needed it. He looked around the room he had to cross next. It was empty of any boxes or columns. Nothing to hide behind and six enemies that could trigger an alarm. He unholstered his blaster, taking careful aim at one of the enemies. Just had to make sure he took them out without giving them a chance to register what had happened. He set his blaster to the stun setting. He shot one of the enemies, sending it sprawling to the floor, but he didn't get a chance to shoot another as one of them signaled an alarm, shutting off the simulation. "Damn."

"James, we are approaching Sargasso Hideout. What are your orders?" Peppy's voice squawked through the speaker box.

"You and Pigma stay on the ship and out of orbit. I'm going to take the prototype and see if my friend has any information that might be useful." James laughed as he walked out of the room. "I heard he has a daughter since the last time we saw each other."

[StarFox

The small ship landed outside of a building in the docking bay set aside for occupants of the planet. The reynard climbed out of the ship and started to walk towards the entrance of the building. A blue fox greeted him at the door. "James! It's so good to see you again. It's been what, nineteen years?"

"That's sounds about right. When are you going to move to Corneria like I've been asking you to?" James said, shaking the fox's hand. "Or to Papetoon, so I can have the great Archimedes as a neighbor?"

"You flatter me." The fox smiled. "Besides, I like it here. It's close to Cerinia."

"Alright…We'll I came to see if you could give me some info."

"Let's go inside. We can talk there."

[StarFox

"Sorry, James." Archimedes sighed, after hearing James explain the situation. "I haven't contacted Andross since the incident on Corneria. In fact, I don't think any of us have kept in contact with each other since the incident. The only way the Lylat government let me keep my research license was if I conducted my research here. At least no one cares if this place gets blown to bits. It keeps me from seeing Ruby and Krystal, but if any research can improve life, it just might be worth it."

"Nothing's worth losing time with your family." The pilot smiled. "Never give up on helping people, but time is precious. I always wished that I had spent more time with Vicky. After this mission, I'm retiring to spend time with Fox. Fly with him on weekends."

"Sounds good. Maybe I'll do that too. We are getting on in years."

"Message for Archimedes Sabina." A computer at one end of the apartment relayed. "Priority: Urgent."

The blue fox turned towards the computer and started to walk towards it. "Send it through."

A dog in a white lab coat appeared on the screen, a somewhat despaired look on his face. "Dr. Sabina! It's terrible!"

"Slow down a minute. I have a guest. The only reason I accepted your message was it was ranked urgent. Now, what do you want?"

"To tell you something I don't really want to tell you. But you have to know. Cerinia…it's been destroyed."

"No…" The blue fox murmured as James walked up to beside the screen.

"Do you have any information of somebody that might have survived. Anything at all?"

"Three ships and a pod left the planet just before the explosion. The ships were headed for Venom, while the pod was headed towards a planet very similar to Fortuna, especially in residents. Officially, it is considered to primitive for governmental intervention. We won't be able to check who's on the pod, since it'll have landed before we can catch it."

"No…" James muttered at the new information. "I'm sorry Archimedes."

"Don't be." The blue fox mumbled, not looking at the screen anymore as he terminated the conversation. "Hopefully, it was Krystal and Ruby that got away. It looks like you have your proof that Venom is up to something."

"It's not good enough to conclude anything. We have to determine whether Venom is a target or an attacker. I'll still have to go to the planet before I can make a report."

"Can you do me a favor then?"

"Anything, old friend." The fox said, adjusting his glasses.

"Let me come with you. If Andross is behind this, I want to be there when you take care of him."


	3. Getting Ready

* * *

(Before I start on this one, I feel I should say something. First of all, Archimedes action sucked. Outside of the fact that this guy is a stoic character, there were a few technical reasons I wrote him like that. He has no reason to care about this planet specifically. Even before they exiled him, he wasn't exactly thrilled with the inhabitants. And yes, he does want it to be his daughter that survives, but intellectually, he knows he won't even see his daughter again whether she survived or not. He wants her to survive, but he knows within a few weeks, it won't even matter to him so he's not going to let it bother him. As for technical reasons, when I wrote the last chapter, I had already spent two hours searching for information on the Star Fox universe. I can't remember at the moment, but I believe the planet is the actual name of Krystal's home planet. It wasn't supposed to be a mystery, if anyone didn't realize. There you go. I also like writing characters that can push their emotions to the side when they need to. They're fun, I rarely do them, so I made my semi-original character a stoic. Finally, how do you express any sort of feeling over the explosion of a planet. It's something that you just really can't imagine. Heck, the only example I can really think of is Princess Leia crying over the destruction of Alderaan. I wasn't going to copy it because it didn't fit the character I had in mind and it didn't really seem appropriate. A planet blows up and you don't go screaming why did this happen! You probably mutter oh my god or fall into an awkward silence while the news sinks in. Heck, I think everyone should have been more shocked at James reaction. He went straight to business. Ok, I've wasted enough of your time. On with the story.)

* * *

"Permission to dock...granted."

The four ships came into towards the spacedock, slowing down on approach. "Falco, I need you to guard the ships while me and Leon take care of some business." Wolf smirked. "If you're docking with us, Katt, I want you to stay at the docks as well. No sense in spreading thin."

"Aw, man. Why do I have to stay at the docks?"

"I'll do it." Leon said quickly.

"Ew."

"Yeah, let Leon do it. He's great for guard duty."

"Hey!"

"I need Leon with me. He has skills essential for this job."

"That's alright. I'm sure we can find something to do to pass the time, Falco."

Falco pressed some buttons, changing to a private communication with Wolf. "Please take her with you."

"Sorry, Falco. The fewer of us there are, the better chance of success."

* * *

"Hey, Peps!" Pigma boomed, walking onto the bridge. "What's going on."

"Just waiting for James to-"

"Wonderful!" The pig interrupted, slamming his hand down on the back of Peppy's chair. "Hey! Since everyone seems to be busy at the moment, I'm going to be in the training room for a while."

"Hey, I could use a little-"

"I'd prefer train alone."

"Are you sure?"

"Yep, unless you want to play a betting match."

The hare stared at his teammate for a moment, then scowled and shook his head. "Fine, have it your way."

"Thought so." Pigma laughed, walking out of the bridge.

* * *

"Hey, Fly Boy." The hare shouted as she jogged to catch up with Fox, books clutched in her hands. "You got time after classes today? I was thinking we could go see a holo."

"Uh...how about tomorrow?" Fox replied, smiling at Lucy. "I already promised Slips I would help test out one of his inventions."

"I don't think so. I've got a few night classes tomorrow."

"Come along then." He stopped at a locker, and started working on the lock. "It shouldn't take too long, and we can go afterwards."

"Can't you just postpone the test a few days?" She scowled. "How often do any of us get to hang out without having to work on our skills?"

"I don't see you trying to hang out with Slippy or Bill.." Fox smiled again, opening the locker.

"Maybe I just want to hang out with you." She said, smirking. Then she walked off. "I'll meet you after class."

* * *

Two foxes ran through the Saragosa streets, sprinting into alleyways when a spotlight swept over the street they were on. "Damn these curfews." James scowled, waiting for the spotlight to pass.

"Damn you, James!" His companion countered. "Why couldn't you dock your ship closer to my place?"

"It wouldn't be a problem if you didn't have to pack all your notes." James remarked, dashing after the lights had passed. He started talking again once they had skidded into a new alley. "Shouldn't you be bawling your eyes out or something? A whole planet just blew up."

"Never really cared for the place." Archimedes said, looking down the alley. "Moved there for my wife's health, you know."

"She's probably dead now."

"I don't think she could have survived anywhere else." The blue fox replied, getting ready to dash. "I truly hope Krystal got away, though."

"Why the hell does a thieves haven have a curfew?" James smirked as they ducked into a new alley.

"Crooks don't like being victims." Archimedes allowed a slight smile. "How much further is your ship, anyways?"

"Two...three streets?"

* * *

(Ok, I'm done for now. Hope you enjoy, I hope to update again soon.)


End file.
